


Tides of the Heart

by anesake



Category: Magical Vacation (Video Games)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Loss of Parent(s), Male-Female Friendship, Self-Hatred, it's mild though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-01 07:52:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18796114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anesake/pseuds/anesake
Summary: Heroine comforts Cidre about the loss of his mother.





	Tides of the Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Request made by a friend. I will post this on my MS/MV fanfic blog as well.
> 
> Also, this fic contains references to loss of parents, and mild self-hatred (as stated in the tags). You've been warned.

He stared at the waves crashing against the shore, watching them surge with varying intensities only to retreat, over and over again.

His eyes strayed, taking in the orange sun setting over the horizon, painting the sky in hues of pink and orange; the sand sparkling in the dim light, littered with seashells.

He closed his eyes. He listened to the seagulls’ call above him, the chatter and laughter of his classmates in the distance, the rustling of the palm trees. With a deep inhale he breathed in the salty air; feeling the cool, gentle breeze caress his face, the soft sand around his feet, the weight of a hand on his shoulder—

He opened his eyes, turning towards his companion. Despite the shadows hiding her face, he could still discern her soft smile.

“Cidre?” Her voice barely rose above a whisper. “You’ve been acting strange since we came here. Are you okay?”

He took in a deep breath, preparing himself to respond, only to let it out in a sigh. There was no point in dampening her mood, or anyone else’s, really. They all came here to have fun, he wouldn’t spoil it by moping around. So he straightened his back, and with his most easygoing smile, said, “I’m great. Just enjoying the scenery, you know?” He made a show of breathing in the air again, and faced her. “Let’s go rejoin our friends.”

He turned around, only for her hand on his wrist stopped him short.

“Cidre… I know something is wrong. I can tell. You don’t have to tell me anything if you really don’t want to, but… I just want to know if I can help you or anything.”

“You can’t.” He wished he could take the words back as soon as they left his mouth. It was true, but saying that would do nothing but make her curious, concerned for her friends as she was. He supposed it wasn’t all that bad; they’ve been going to the same school for years. Besides, he’d consider her to be one of the most trustworthy kids of the bunch, second only to Olive, but with whom he was closer. If anybody understood him, it was her.

“I was…” He sighed. “I was thinking of my mom.”

Her face instantly fell. “I’m sorry…” she began, but Cidre shook his head.

“It’s fine. I was just think—“He took a deep breath once again, swallowing down the limp in his throat. “I was thinking of something she had told me; how you should take a step back and look at your surroundings, let them inspire you and all that.” He bit his quivering lip before stretching his mouth into a smile. “Solid advice from an artist, if I say so myself.”

Heroine didn’t reply, staring at the sand with a frown.

“Anyway,” he continued, “the scenery reminded me of that for some reason. Just ignore me, I’m being—“

He was cut off by her arms wrapping around him from behind. He instinctively turned his head to look at her—not that he could—if only to see what expression she was wearing.

“Don’t brush away your feelings like that,” she mumbled. “It’s completely natural to feel those things; believe me, I’m speaking from experience.”

He whirled around to face her, and she let go of him.

“Yeah,” she smiled. “I know what it’s like to be an orphan. Knowing this… will you tell me that my feelings are stupid?”

“What?! Of course not!”

“Am I weak for feeling sad that my parents are dead?”

“No!”

“Then why do you think  _you_ are?”

“Well… you’re you, and I’m me. I mean… I’d hate for you to feel like that, and… better me than you, I’d say.”

“Why?”

“Because I care about you, obviously.”

“But you don’t care about yourself?”

“… Not necessarily.”

She frowned. “Why not?”

Cidre mulled over it for a minute, before shrugging.

Heroine sighed. “I wish I could change that. If only you cared about yourself as much as I care about you…”

She once again cast her gaze at the sand, and he thought he could see her eyes well up and redden.

“I’m sorry,” he blurted out.

She shook her head, a small smile spreading on her face. “Don’t apologize. Just know that there are people who care about you, and that you’re not alone. It’s not the same thing, of course, and you will definitely carry this pain with you for years and years to come. But I, for one, can confidently say that you and all of our friends and teachers have become my family. I can find comfort in that, at least.”

Cidre answered with a smile of his own and turned his gaze at the now-dark horizon.

“Want to go back? Everyone must have gathered around the fire by now.”

“Yeah,” he replied, and followed her.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
